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Jonah Tries to Run Away from God

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”

The sailors[a] said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17 [b] But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:7 Heb They
  2. Jonah 1:17 Ch 2.1 in Heb

Jonah Flees From the Lord

The word of the Lord came to Jonah(A) son of Amittai:(B) “Go to the great city of Nineveh(C) and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah ran(D) away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish(E). He went down to Joppa,(F) where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.(G)

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.(H) All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.(I)

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call(J) on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”(K)

Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.”(L) They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.(M) So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord,(N) the God of heaven,(O) who made the sea(P) and the dry land.(Q)

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”(R)

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.(S) 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man,(T) for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”(U) 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.(V) 16 At this the men greatly feared(W) the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows(X) to him.

Jonah’s Prayer

17 Now the Lord provided(Y) a huge fish to swallow Jonah,(Z) and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Joshua and Caleb

46 Joshua son of Nun was mighty in war,
    and was the successor of Moses in the prophetic office.
He became, as his name implies,
    a great savior of God’s[a] elect,
to take vengeance on the enemies that rose against them,
    so that he might give Israel its inheritance.
How glorious he was when he lifted his hands
    and brandished his sword against the cities!
Who before him ever stood so firm?
    For he waged the wars of the Lord.
Was it not through him that the sun stood still
    and one day became as long as two?
He called upon the Most High, the Mighty One,
    when enemies pressed him on every side,
and the great Lord answered him
    with hailstones of mighty power.
He overwhelmed that nation in battle,
    and on the slope he destroyed his opponents,
so that the nations might know his armament,
    that he was fighting in the sight of the Lord;
    for he was a devoted follower of the Mighty One.
And in the days of Moses he proved his loyalty,
    he and Caleb son of Jephunneh:
they opposed the congregation,[b]
    restrained the people from sin,
    and stilled their wicked grumbling.
And these two alone were spared
    out of six hundred thousand infantry,
to lead the people[c] into their inheritance,
    the land flowing with milk and honey.
The Lord gave Caleb strength,
    which remained with him in his old age,
so that he went up to the hill country,
    and his children obtained it for an inheritance,
10 so that all the Israelites might see
    how good it is to follow the Lord.

The Judges

11 The judges also, with their respective names,
    whose hearts did not fall into idolatry
and who did not turn away from the Lord—
    may their memory be blessed!
12 May their bones send forth new life from where they lie,
    and may the names of those who have been honored
    live again in their children!

13 Samuel was beloved by his Lord;
    a prophet of the Lord, he established the kingdom
    and anointed rulers over his people.
14 By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation,
    and the Lord watched over Jacob.
15 By his faithfulness he was proved to be a prophet,
    and by his words he became known as a trustworthy seer.
16 He called upon the Lord, the Mighty One,
    when his enemies pressed him on every side,
    and he offered in sacrifice a suckling lamb.
17 Then the Lord thundered from heaven,
    and made his voice heard with a mighty sound;
18 he subdued the leaders of the enemy[d]
    and all the rulers of the Philistines.
19 Before the time of his eternal sleep,
    Samuel[e] bore witness before the Lord and his anointed:
“No property, not so much as a pair of shoes,
    have I taken from anyone!”
    And no one accused him.
20 Even after he had fallen asleep, he prophesied
    and made known to the king his death,
and lifted up his voice from the ground
    in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.

Footnotes

  1. Sirach 46:1 Gk his
  2. Sirach 46:7 Other ancient authorities read the enemy
  3. Sirach 46:8 Gk them
  4. Sirach 46:18 Heb: Gk leaders of the people of Tyre
  5. Sirach 46:19 Gk he
'Sirach 46 ' not found for the version: New International Version.

The Escape to Egypt

13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph[a] got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

The Massacre of the Infants

16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,[b] he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.[c] 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
    wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

The Return from Egypt

19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 Then Joseph[d] got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:14 Gk he
  2. Matthew 2:16 Or astrologers; Gk magi
  3. Matthew 2:16 Or astrologers; Gk magi
  4. Matthew 2:21 Gk he

The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel(A) of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.(B) “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”(C)

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled(D) what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a](E)

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:(F)

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel(G) weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”[b](H)

The Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel(I) of the Lord appeared in a dream(J) to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”(K)

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream,(L) he withdrew to the district of Galilee,(M) 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.(N) So was fulfilled(O) what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
  2. Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15